


Capable of Love

by yourfavoritetsundre



Series: Duality Project [7]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adoption, Bullying, Career Day, Established Relationship, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Field Trip, Libraries, M/M, Orphans, Role Models, history repeats itself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-03
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2020-01-01 09:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18333458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yourfavoritetsundre/pseuds/yourfavoritetsundre
Summary: Lance meets Justin, a young orphaned boy who just needs someone to believe in him.





	Capable of Love

**Author's Note:**

> So this is most likely the last installment of the Duality Project. It's a nice, fluffy, feel good story of how Lance builds his own family. I didn't want to make it too heavy in terms of Justin's parents being dead and everything. Just like...Lance sees someone who reminds him of young, lost Keith and wants to do everything he can to help. So of course he adopts him. 
> 
> Anyway, I wanted to close this on a high note. Enjoy. 
> 
> Alternative title - "Lance's Home for Lost and Broken Boys"

**Justin**

 

Justin hated career day. 

 

It was just so dumb. Presenters with their cheesy smiles. And there was a worksheet. To prove he had participated. And he had to go during library time. He loved library time. 

 

He knew he’d get in trouble for not doing the worksheet, but he snuck out of class anyway. He went outside to the play yard and sat under his favorite bush. It was this week’s hiding spot. The other boys in his class hadn’t found him yet. 

 

“Hurry, we’re going to be late.” an impatient voice snapped. 

 

“Jeeze, Pidge, lighten up. It doesn’t start for twenty minutes.” Someone grunted.

 

“Yeah, but we have no idea where we’re going.” 

 

Another voice said, “Well you’re not carrying all this stuff. Come on, let us take a break.” 

 

“Oh, my God, fine, you big babies.”

 

A crunch of gravel as something heavy was lowered onto the ground. Curiosity got the better of Justin, and he crawled under the bushes to peer through the otherside. Two men sat on a big metal case, but Justin was too low to the ground to see their faces. A third figure stood with their back to Justin. 

 

“Lance?” 

 

“What?” 

 

“Your leg alright?” 

 

One of the men sitting stopped kneading his thigh. “Yeah. It’s fine.” 

 

The other man made a sound of disbelief, but no one seemed to want to press the issue. There was a ringing sound, and the one with the not-hurting leg pulled a com from his pocket. 

 

“Hey babe!” he sang. 

 

“Gag me.” the impatient voice said. 

 

“I think it’s sweet.” the third one said. “Hey Keith! How’s Daibazaal?” 

 

“Boring.” a deep voice marred by electronic speakers replies. “Can’t wait to come home.” 

 

“Awww, I can’t wait to see you too.” the com owner cooed. 

 

“I just don’t want to be in meetings all day.” 

 

The other two laughed. 

 

“Well, why did you call then?” 

 

“Just saying hi. Kolivan wants to go out for dinner tonight, and I don’t know how late I’ll be.” 

 

“Okay. Give Kosmo a kiss for me.” 

 

“You know he hates that.” 

 

“He’s too much like his owner.” 

 

“I like your kisses.” 

 

“Well, I certainly hope so! You’re stuck with me now, mullet!” A hand with a glinting silver ring was waved around. “Even if we still haven’t gone on our honeymoon, because Shiro’s a jerk!” 

 

“We have responsibilities, Lance.” 

 

“Yeah, well, I have a responsibility to go on a vacation with my new husband. Give him the proper sexing he deserves.”

 

“Oh, my God, Lance, we’re at a Catholic elementary school!” The other man sitting on the box hissed. “You can’t say that word!” 

 

Justin was eleven. He knew what sex was. Though he still wasn’t quite sure how it worked between two men. Well he knew. Kind of. But it seemed kind of...well there had to be more than just one position, right? Well - 

 

“Guys, I should go.” the voice on the com said. “It was good to hear from you. Lance?” 

 

“Hm?” 

 

“I love you, even when you say inappropriate things.” 

 

“And I love you, even when you belittle the importance of giving our space wolf kisses.” 

 

The com was pocketed with a happy sigh. 

 

“Is the grossness ever going to wear off?” the impatient one asked. 

 

“No.” came the dreamy sigh. “Never.” 

 

A hand circled Justin’s ankle and sharply pulled him back, dragging him through the mulch. “Justin Hamish! What on Earth are you doing?” 

 

Justin rolls onto his back and looks up at Sister Margaret. Sister Margaret is one of the nice, modern nuns who runs the boarding school. She has short, greying hair and usually wears some combination of a wool skirt and rumpled blouse. She’s nice, but she’s also strict. She’s known Justin since he arrived here when his parents went to space. Before they died. 

 

“There was an interesting bug.” he lied. 

 

“You’re too old to be lying in the dirt!” she scolded. “Look, you’ve ruined your shirt.” 

 

Justin looked sadly down at his white polo shirt with the school logo on the breast pocket. It was, indeed, stained with dirt. Sister Margaret was mad, but she was fussing over him anyway as she pulls him to his feet. Inside the building, a bell rang to signal the next period. 

 

“You don’t have time to change.” Sister Margaret clucked unhappily. “You’ll have to go to class like this.” 

 

It’ll be humiliating. Everyone will stare. Justin tries to tell himself he doesn’t care. Sister Margaret puts a firm hand on his shoulder and walks him to his class. Neither of them notice that they had caught the attention of the Paladins in the parking lot. 

 

~*~

 

Justin endured the whispering in class by keeping his head down and reading the book he kept hidden in his lap. When it was time to go to the career fair, he tucked the book under his arm. 

 

The career fair is set up in the gymnasium. The majority of Justin’s class bolts for the Garrison presenters. Just like they do every year. Although this year the presenters are the real life Paladins of Voltron. Hunk Garrett, who was here to talk about diplomacy, and Katie Holt, who was probably one of the smartest people ever. At least, that’s what people said. Some other guy is with them, but he doesn’t seem to be there to do any talking. 

 

Justin avoided the masses and went to a few of the ignored stalls to put some half-assed answers on his worksheet, then sat against the wall and opened his book. The gym is loud, the chatter of his classmates echoes and it’s hard to focus. Samantha Ripley walks by with her best friends, and her hair flutters prettily. She pretends Justin doesn’t exist, and so does Justin. 

 

Someone stands next to him, leaning against the wall. Justin glances up to see a blue uniform shirt and brown hands shoved into pockets. Justin quickly looks back down at his book, and tries to read the same sentence over and over. 

 

“You don’t want to join in?” 

 

Justin looks up, but the man isn’t looking at him. He has short brown hair and a pointed nose, and appears casual. Justin looks back at his book before the man decides to look at him. 

 

“No.” he says quietly. 

 

“You don’t like space?” 

 

He doesn’t answer. He just grips his book harder. 

 

“Eh, guess it’s not for everyone.” the man says easily. “What are you reading?” 

 

Justin flipped the book shut to show him the cover, keeping a thumb on his page. 

 

“The Book Thief. That was my sister’s favorite. Aren’t you a little young for that one?” 

 

Justin glares up at him, and is met with piercing blue eyes. “I can understand it.” 

 

The man chuckles and looks away. “I’m sure you can.” 

 

“What’s so funny?” Justin demanded. 

 

“Nothing.” 

 

“You’re making fun of me.” he accused. 

 

“No, I’m not.” The man smiled. “You just remind me of someone. My name’s Lance, by the way.” 

 

“Justin.” 

 

“It is very nice to meet you, Justin.” He paused. “Why is your shirt dirty?” 

 

“I was hiding.” Justin admitted. “In the bushes.” 

 

“Why?” 

 

Justin shrugged. 

 

“Did you call your mom to get a new shirt?” 

 

“Don’t have a mom.” Justin mumbled. 

 

Lance’s voice goes soft, and Justin hates it. “I’m sorry to hear that.” 

 

“Mr McClain!” 

 

Lance’s head snaps up, and Justin looks over to see Miss Nelson, his teacher, approaching. 

 

“It’s time for Justin to go back to class.” 

 

“Of course.” Lance smiles. “Have a good day, Justin.” 

 

Justin stays silent, and dog ears his page to mark his page before standing. He follows Miss Nelson to join the end of his class’ line. 

 

“Why were you talking to Paladin McClain?” Gregory Pitts asked. 

 

“I wasn’t.” Justin mumbled. 

 

“He was probably just sorry for you. Cause you’re such a freak.” Tommy Wiles sneered. 

 

“Leave him alone, Tommy.” Samantha’s voice rang out. 

 

Justin would very much like to go back to pretending he doesn’t exist. 

 

That night, Justin steals one of the Garrison pamphlets off of Gregory Pitts’ night stand and reads it under his covers when everyone’s asleep. Most of it is about the pilot program, and Earth’s safety, and diplomacy and tech advances. But there is a small blurb on the back about Voltron, and the Paladins. How they defend the universe. He stares at their names and wonders...why did one of them want to talk to him? 

 

~*~

 

Justin didn’t give career day much thought after it passed. Or Lance, for that matter. He had other problems. Like summer break. 

 

Summer break was always good, for about a week. The majority of the other kids got to go home. Except Tommy Wiles, who was an asshole, and a few other kids whose parents were too busy. 

 

One year, Justin watched from the swing set while Tommy Wiles waited for three hours for his parents to come pick him up. It turned out that they forgot the term was ending, and they couldn’t get away from work. Tommy Wiles stopped going home after that, and instead tortured Justin year round. Justin felt sorry for him for about ten minutes. 

 

Anyway, it seemed that Tommy Wiles was staying for another summer, so Justin had to get his usual hiding spots ready. This mostly involved stealing snacks in his backpack and hiding them in the attic, as well as spare blankets and pillows to make it more comfortable. 

 

Justin was on his way to the attic with his backpack filled with peanut butter cheese crackers stolen from the vending machine when he saw Lance sitting outside Sister Margaret’s office. He jiggled his leg. 

 

“Lance?” 

 

He looked around and smiled brilliantly. “Oh, hey, Justin.” 

 

“What’re you doing here?” 

 

“I was hoping to see you, actually.” Lance patted a space on the wooden bench next to him. “Have a seat.” 

 

Justin tightened his grip on his backpack, and didn’t move. “Is something wrong?” 

 

“What? No.”

 

“Am I in trouble?” 

 

“What on Earth would you be in trouble for?” Lance asked softly. 

 

Justin shrugged and looked at the floor. 

 

“I’ve been talking to Sister Margaret. She’s told me a lot about you.” Lance paused. “She told me you didn’t have any plans for the summer.” 

 

Justin shook his head. Well, he did have a whole list of books he wanted to read. And the never ending game of avoiding Tommy Wiles. 

 

“Well, I was thinking, if you’d like, and if Sister Margaret says it’s okay, we could hang out a bit.” Lance smiled nervously. “You can think of it as...field trips.” 

 

“Don’t you have more important stuff to do?” 

 

Justin realizes a little too late that maybe he sounds rude. But Lance shrugs it off. 

 

“Nah, not really. Just boring stuff. Anyway, what do ya say?” 

 

Justin curled his fingers around his backpack. He didn’t have anything else to do. Realistically, his reading list would only last him a month at most. And Tommy Wiles would be so jealous. 

 

“I guess I could make time.” he mumbled. 

 

Lance snorted. “Thanks, kid. It’s an honor.” 

 

The office door opened, and Sister Margaret stood in the doorway. “Mr McClain. Oh, Justin, dear, why aren’t you playing outside?” 

 

Justin shrugged. 

 

“Go join your classmates. Term’s almost over, don’t you want to see your friends?” 

 

Justin didn’t answer her, and just turned on his heel to go outside. He’d hang around the door for ten minutes before sneaking back in and hiding the snacks in his spot. 

 

“Come in, Mr McClain. What can I do for you today?” 

 

~*~

 

**Lance**

 

Lance sighed as he spun in his chair, staring at the ceiling. 

 

It was the end of the summer. He had spent one day a week with Justin. Taking him bowling, to the movies, to museums. At first it was just Lance desperately trying to figure out things to do, remembering what he liked doing as a kid. Eventually, as Justin started to open up, it was easier for Lance to find things he might want to do. 

 

He didn’t know what was driving him to do it. To convince Sister Margaret at the school to let him take Justin for the afternoon under the guise of community service. From the moment he met Justin, sitting in the corner of the gym and looking completely miserable…

 

He really reminded him of young Keith. 

 

Angry. Wary. Accusing. Adorably scruffy. 

 

Sister Margaret had told Lance that Justin’s parents had died, and since he had already been enrolled in the boarding school the state had decided he was best left in the care of the nuns. He was a good kid, she had reassured him. Just...lonely. She had long suspected the other kids were bullying him but there was never and proof, and Justin never complained. 

 

It wasn’t until Lance had suggested they go to the Planetarium, one of his own favorite places, that he learned how they had died. Justin dug his feet in and glared at the ticket window. 

 

“Space killed my parents.” he finally admitted through grinding teeth. 

 

Oh. 

 

That night at home, while stretched out on the couch with Keith, he searched through rosters of failed missions for the name Hamish. Individually, or a couple. It took an hour, but he finally found them. 

 

It was a complete accident and some oversight that had killed Mary Anne and Jergen Hamish, as well as the two technicians accompanying them. Jergen, the pilot, entered the atmosphere of the planet his wife, principal scientist, perfectly. The ion clouds surrounding the planet hid the sharp, glass-like dust on the surface. When they opened the shuttle doors, the dust got inside. And as they were leaving, and took off their suits inside the shuttle, they breathed it in. It tore apart their lungs before they could break the atmosphere. 

 

“Hey, space boy.” 

 

Lance straightened up to see Veronica standing on the other side of his desk with Shiro. “Heyyyy, Ronnie.” 

 

She dropped a huge stack of paperwork onto his desk, rattling the photo of Keith he kept on the corner. “Don’t call me that.” she reminded. 

 

“What’s all this?” he asked. 

 

“Your job. You know. If you’re done daydreaming about your husband.” 

 

“I wasn’t!” Lance protested. 

 

“That wasn’t his Keith-dreaming face.” Shiro smiled. “There’s a lot more drooling involved in that one.” 

 

“Oh my God.” Lance groaned. “Why do you two have to be friends? You’re worse than Pidge and Matt.” 

 

“Don’t let them hear you say that.” 

 

Lance glared suspiciously at the air vent above his desk. “You’re right.” 

 

“Get to work, Lance.” Veronica said tartly, turning and walking out. 

 

Lance scowled after his older sister. Worst. Boss. Ever. 

 

“Everything alright, Lance?” Shiro asked. “You seem more distracted than usual.” 

 

Lance sighed at the massive stack of paperwork. He’d never get this done. But he had to. Especially if he wanted to find time for Justin before school started up again next week. His eye was drawn, as usual, to Keith’s photo. It sat in front of the one of his family, and his space family. Keith’s photo was just a simple, candid shot of him leaning on a railing at a pier near where Lance grew up. It had been taken forever ago, when they first started dating. 

 

“When did you know you wanted to help Keith?” he asked. 

 

Shiro looked a little taken aback. Maybe he was right to. Lance never asked him about his perspective of meeting Keith. It had never really come up. 

 

“I don’t know.” Shiro said. After a moment of consideration, he said, “I guess I saw someone with potential, who was hurting. And I wanted to do what I could to stop that hurt.” 

 

“But...you were recruiting for the Garrison. You didn’t have to...I don’t know. Do all the other stuff.” 

 

“Are you asking why I got attached?” 

 

Lance shrugged. 

 

“Is this about that Justin kid? Keith says you’ve spent a lot of time with him.” 

 

“Maybe.” Lance hedged. 

 

Shiro sat in one of the chairs facing Lance’s desk. Lance slumped in his own chair, hand moving down to absently massage where his skin fused with the metal base of his mechanical leg. 

 

“He’s really smart, Shiro.” Lance said quietly. “He’s always got a book in his hand. I’ve never seen a kid read like him. Sister Margaret, the principal at the school, says he’d be the top of his class if he just applied himself.” 

 

“Why isn’t he applying himself?” 

 

Lance shrugged. “No friends? Dead parents? The other kids think he’s weird? The nuns are too busy to help him? Who knows. I’m just not sure what I can do to help him.” 

 

“In my experience, chasing around after all of you monsters on the Castle of Lions - “

 

“Are you finally accepting the name Space Dad?” 

 

“No, shut up, in my experience, kids just need someone who believes they’re capable. The rest they can do themselves.” 

 

Lance scrunched up his nose. “Seriously? That’s it?” 

 

Shiro shrugged. “Worked with Keith. And you, for that matter.”

 

Lance sighed and rubbed his face. 

 

“Have you considered being approved for fostering?” 

 

“What?” Lance sat straight up. “No, no, this isn’t - Keith doesn’t want - we literally just got married. We can’t - “

 

“Just a thought.” Shiro shrugged. “But, you know, maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea for Justin and Keith to meet. It wouldn’t hurt for Justin to meet someone who had been in his situation and made something of themselves.” 

 

Lance considered. “Is that what you hoped for when Keith and Adam met? I thought they hated each other.” 

 

“Keith always frustrated Adam because he just couldn’t stay out of trouble, which just made Keith irritated and upset. But Keith was also a teenager, and me and Adam were younger than you are now. Justin’s not quite at the insolent teenager stage yet, right?” 

 

“Nah, he’s only eleven.” 

 

“Well, make the most of it before he hates you for caring.” Shiro stood up. “I should let you get to your work. And hey, think about what I said. About fostering. Maybe not now, but...you obviously care about this kid. You’d be able to do a lot more for him if he was your ward.” 

 

Lance sighed.

 

~*~

 

Lance parked the hover car on the curb and smiled slightly at Justin in the backseat as he peered out the window. His brown hair was neatly combed today, because Lance had told him they were going somewhere special. He had carefully dressed himself in his summer uniform khakis and a green buttoned shirt that Sister Margaret had probably helped him pick out. It made his huge hazel eyes look lighter. 

 

“Where are we?” Justin asked, staring at the huge white building. 

 

“You’ll see.” Lance promised. “Come on.” 

 

They got out of the car and Lance carefully locked it before leading Justin across the stone courtyard. Lance quickly shuffled him through the doors and the security sensors. Justin frowned at the wide, open atrium. 

 

“A library?” 

 

“This is the largest remaining physical library.” Lance explained quietly, leading him forward. “I noticed you never read off a tablet. I thought you might like to visit.” 

 

“My mom always said a paper book had more personality.” Justin said, looking hungrily at the shelves stretching out infront of him. “She said, you can tell how loved a book was by how many tea stains and folded corners it had. You couldn’t see that on a tablet.” 

 

Lance smiled. He’d never thought of it that way. He should tell Pidge. She’d throw a fit. 

 

Justin meandered through the shelves with Lance trailing after him. He didn’t seem to be looking at any of the books. Not the titles, at least. He was just...looking at the physical books. In total awe. In the classics section, he stopped and ran his fingers over the embossed spines. Carefully, he tipped  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone  out of its place. 

 

“Have you ever read that one?” Lance asked as Justin reverently opened the front cover. 

 

Justin shook his head. “Sister Margaret says wizards are the Devil’s agents, and books about them don’t have a place in God’s library.” 

 

Lance grimaced. He had wondered a few times where God might interfere with Justin’s education. So far, it hadn’t seemed like He had much of a hand in it. Maybe He was too busy with curbing Justin’s reading list. 

 

“Here.” Lance said, holding his hand out. “We can borrow it.”

 

Justin looked up hopefully. “Really?” 

 

“Yeah. Why not?” Lance grinned mischievously. “Just don’t tell Sister Margaret.” 

 

Justin frowned. “But...I don’t have a library card.” 

 

Lance almost told him not to worry about it. That his Garrison ID would let them borrow as many books as they wanted. But then he thought about Justin’s dislike of space, and anything to do with it. And how young Keith would react to someone doing something for him for no reason. 

 

“Then we’ll get you one.” Lance said easily. 

 

Justin hesitated. “But...how will I return it?” 

 

“Well, I suppose we’ll just have to come back next week.” 

 

“But...the summer’s over.” 

 

Lance grimaced. Justin wasn’t looking at him. He was staring at the cover of the book. 

 

“Justin, did you think that when the summer was over I’d just stop...caring about you?” 

 

Justin shrugged and bit his lip. Lance sighed and bent down to kneel and look up at the boy. 

 

“Look, I know this isn’t going to be the easiest thing for you to believe. But I do care about you, Justin. And I want to make sure that you’re happy, okay? If that means taking you to the library every week, then that’s what we’ll do. Alright?” 

 

Justin nodded. 

 

“Hey, after we get your library card, there’s someone I want you to meet. He’s very important to me. Only if you want to though.” 

 

“Okay.” Justin whispered. 

 

Lance stood, and winced as his muscles strained against his robotic leg. Luckily, Justin was still staring at his book and didn’t notice. Lance looked back at the shelf, and slid the copy of  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets  out of its place as well. 

 

“We should take this one too.” Lance said. “You read too fast for your own good.” 

 

~*~

 

**Justin**

 

Justin doesn’t know what he thinks of Keith at first. 

 

The first time they meet, Keith is largely silent. Lance carries their conversation over lunch, and seems like he’s used to filling this role. He asks Justin what he thinks he’ll learn in the coming year - Justin is very excited to have tested out of handwriting classes for the year. Keith listens, but doesn’t offer any opinions. 

 

Keith leaves just before dessert, saying he has to help Shiro with something. He leans over and pecks Lance on the lips. Then something odd happens. 

 

Keith says, “I love you, even when you blow through our eating out budget in a single afternoon.” 

 

Lance gives him a toothy grin and responds, “And I love you. Even when you order the exact same thing every time we go out.”

 

Keith leaves, Lance smiles after him, and Justin wonders what he had just witnessed. Then Lance snatches up the dessert menu.

 

“Good, he’s gone.” he whispers to Justin. “Now we can order the sugariest dessert they have.” 

 

Justin sees Lance on Saturdays. Now that school is starting, Lance says he can only see him on weekends. And Sister Margaret has to make sure his homework is done before they go anywhere. They usually stop at the library first, and they go do whatever Lance has planned after lunch. Lance has stopped calling their days “field trips” and says they’re “adventures” instead. 

 

Keith joins them for hiking trips. Lance says he doesn’t have the patience for museums, so he rarely joins them unless they’re doing a physical activity. 

 

Justin knows Lance, because he typically never stops talking, and you really can’t help but like him. Lance is welcoming. And it seems like he’ll never give up on getting to know you. 

 

Getting to know Keith is a completely different experience. Keith doesn’t talk a lot, and when he does it’s rarely about himself. He’s awkward when he asks Justin about his week, and doesn’t seem to know what to say next. If it weren’t for Lance, they’d probably just spend the whole day not speaking. 

 

“Careful.” Keith says, reaching out and catching Justin by the back of the shirt. “There’s wood wasps.” 

 

Justin snatches his hand back from the tree trunk he was about to use to steady himself as they trek up the steep trail. There’s a series of holes marring the wood. 

 

“Wood wasps?” Justin repeats. 

 

Lance is somewhere behind them on the trail, grumbling about ‘young legs’. It’s a ridiculously steep trail, switchbacks cutting through the mountain side, but Lance had said it wasn’t a long one. It’s relatively close to their house, apparently. They live on a nearby lake, and they might be able to see it from the view point at the top of the trail. 

 

Lance is wearing shorts, and it’s the first time that Justin has seen his robotic leg. It’s shiny and white, and a tiny blue mothman doodle near the ankle. Justin has seen plenty of robotic limbs. Mostly on veterans like Lance. But Lance’s is different. It’s not flesh-tone, for one. And it lights up blue, and gives Lance a full range of movement. 

 

“They bore into the wood to nest and lay eggs.” Keith explained, looking at the tree. “And the larvae eat the wood when they hatch. Sometimes, if a nested tree is cut down for timber, the eggs will hatch after the house is built.”

 

Justin shuddered. Sounded like that horrible movie the boys in his dorm had stayed up late to watch without the sisters knowing. Keith gives Justin a reassuring smile. 

 

“Come on, we can’t let Lance catch up.” 

 

It’s on this trip that Justin realizes...Keith really loves it out here. The quiet trail, the sharp smell of pine, the crystal clear view. And he knows so much. He points out invasive plants and notices wildlife that Justin would otherwise miss. 

 

“My dad took me camping a lot, before he died.” Keith said quietly as they sat on a rock at the top of the trailhead, waiting for Lance to finally catch up. “Better for stargazing.”

 

“He died?” Justin asked before he could stop himself. 

 

God, he hated it when people asked him about his dead parents. But here, at the quiet top of the world, Keith didn’t seem to mind. 

 

“When I was ten.” Keith nodded. “My mom...well, she’s galran. She left after I was born. I was on my own for a few years before I joined the Garrison.” 

 

Justin looked at his hands. This was the part where people said ‘I’m sorry’ and didn’t mean it. But Keith wasn’t normal, and neither was Lance, and Justin was starting to find that he didn’t want to be. 

 

“It doesn’t get easier.” Keith said suddenly. “They used to tell me it would. It’s not true. But...you find other things to focus on. Books. Sword fighting. People. Then one day, you look up, and there’s so many other things in your life that...it’s still a part of you, but it doesn’t consume you. Does that make sense?” 

 

Justin frowned at his shoes. “I guess.” 

 

Lance finally makes it to the end of the trail, pointing his finger in mock anger. “You two are the worst, you know that? Leaving the cripple behind like that.” 

 

Keith turned around and grinned. “The mechanical leg should give you an advantage.” 

 

“Jerk.” Lance grumbled, walking towards them and sitting between them on the rock. He comfortably slings an arm around Justin’s shoulders and grabs Keith’s hand.

 

It’s quiet, here at the top of the world. And Justin realizes, maybe Keith doesn’t know how to talk to kids. Maybe he doesn’t know how to talk to anyone. But...he talks to Justin like he’s an adult. He doesn’t sugar coat. Maybe he recognizes that what Justin has been through gives him a little more maturity. Whatever it is, Justin appreciates it. 

 

Maybe Keith isn’t so bad. After all, Lance picked him. And he picked Justin. So they were doing something right. 

 

~*~

 

Lance and Keith take Justin fossil collecting for his twelfth birthday. It had rained in the morning, so it was impossibly muddy, but impossibly fun. And really cool. Justin didn’t know anyone who had done this for their birthday. They don’t find anything but trilobites, but there’s a lot of trilobites, so that’s worth something. 

 

They eat a packed lunch in the field station, and Keith buys them hot chocolates from a machine. It tastes chalky, but in the moment it’s the best thing that Justin has ever tasted. 

 

“Here, Justin.” Lance smiled, handing him three presents carefully wrapped in silver paper. “Happy birthday!” 

 

Justin takes the gifts, then stares at them. Three gifts. That’s the most he’s received from anyone in five years. “It’s too much.” 

 

Lance laughed. “You haven’t even opened them yet.” 

 

“Lance.” Keith reprimanded gently. 

 

Lance sobered, but still smiled. “Go on.” 

 

Justin carefully opened the presents on the side, reaching in and sliding the contents out while disturbing the paper as little as possible. 

 

The biggest one was a book, of course.  **Summerland** by Michael Chabon. 

 

“I read that when I was a little younger than you.” Keith explained. “It’s still one of my favorites.” 

 

The next two contained a blank leather-bound notebook, and a really nice ballpoint pen. Not the kind you gave to a kid. 

 

“I don’t get it.” Justin said blankly. 

 

Lance smiled slightly. “Well, you’re always reading stories. I thought maybe you had a few of your own.” 

 

Justin stared at the gifts, and his throat hurt. They put so much thought into it. And it was so personal. And Lance was smiling hopefully at him, and Keith looked cautious. 

 

When he spoke, it felt like razor blades. “I...thank you.” 

 

“Of course.” Lance smiled.

 

~*~

 

Lance and Keith finally go on their honeymoon, a year after their wedding. Lance couldn’t hide his excitement when he told Jason they wouldn’t see each other for a few weeks. Jason’s happy for them, because they look tired and they deserve some time off. But it’s a lot harder to get through the weeks knowing it won’t end with a quiet day in the mountains or a fierce paintball game with Lance. 

 

He’s hoping no one notices that he’s not spending the day away from the school, but as usual, Justin’s tormentors are more perceptive than he wants them to be. 

 

“Hey, the freak’s here.” 

 

Justin paused in his story. He’s writing about a fairy godmother who’s tired of helping sobbing princesses. For a second, Justin can imagine that they’re calling someone else the freak. But no. He doesn’t have that kind of luck. 

 

“What, the fags get bored of you?” Gregory Pitts sneared. 

 

Next to him, Tommy Wiles snickered. “Who wouldn’t?” 

 

“Don’t call them that.” 

 

Justin’s voice is quiet, maybe from not being used to speaking up. But he’s proud of how steady it is. He’s scared, he’s always scared, but for once it’s being washed over with anger. He hates that word, he hates Gregory and Tommy, he hates that his parents are dead and he hates that Sister Margaret doesn’t do anything to help him and he hates that Lance isn’t here and he hates that Keith has a strength he doesn’t and he hates - 

 

“What did you say?” Gregory asked. 

 

“Maybe he’s turning into one.” Tommy says nastily. “Is that what it is? I bet they only take him places to reward him for being a good little faggot and touching their - “ 

 

The edges of Justin’s vision goes red and he isn’t thinking when he jumps up and launches himself at Tommy. There’s a shrieking noise that is apparently coming from his mouth, but all he cares about is burying his feet and fists as far into Tommy’s body as possible. 

 

~*~

 

**Lance**

 

Lance hung up the phone and sighed, walking towards the balcony that looked out over the ocean. The setting sun made the waves burn orange. 

 

“Justin got in a fight.” he said, sinking into the plush chair next to Keith. 

 

Keith shifted to put an arm around his shoulders and fit their bodies together. His lips brushed across Lance’s forehead, and he sighed and let himself relax. They were successful in getting away from work for these precious few weeks, but life did not stop because they were away. 

 

“What happened?” Keith asked. 

 

“Some other kids were...saying things about us.” 

 

“Oh.” 

 

Sister Margaret hadn’t gone into specifics, but Lance had been twelve years old once. And he could only imagine what Justin’s bullies had said. 

 

“I never thought…” Lance paused. “I just wanted to help him, you know? I didn’t think it would make things worse for him.” 

 

“You are helping him.” Keith pulled away a little bit. “Hey, look at me. He’s so happy every time you pick him up. Sister Margaret says he’s working twice as hard in class, and he’s already halfway through that notebook you bought him. You’re making his life better. If those little bastards didn’t pick on him because of you, it would have been because of something else.” 

 

Lance bit his lip, still not believing. Keith sighed and pressed their foreheads together. 

 

“Your heart’s still too big.” he said quietly. “I thought that maybe I’d wear you down, wear your patience too thin and exhaust you and one day you’d stop loving me. Instead you just keep finding more love to give.” 

 

Lance smiled and knotted their fingers together. “I’ll never stop.” he whispered. “I told you, a long time ago. Whatever you need me to be.” 

 

“I need you to be happy.” Keith punctuated the sentence with a kiss. “And whole.”

 

“I am. With you, I am.”

 

It’s late at night, or early in the morning, when Lance’s thoughts wander in their giddy love-sick way from his beautiful husband to their shining future. And suddenly, the answer is so clear. He presses a tiny kiss to Keith’s sternum, his lips sticking to tacky skin, and whispers, “I want to adopt Justin.” 

 

Keith sighs, weary, like he knew this was coming, and says, “Your heart’s just too damn big.” 

 

~*~

 

They stumble and roll out of bed late the next morning, as they have every other morning on this trip. Lance makes coffee and they find themselves entwined on the chair on the balcony again, watching the boats cross the water. Later in the day, Lance has vague plans to take Keith sailing. They barely say a word to each other, but it’s perfect anyway. 

 

“Are you sure?” Keith asks quietly. “About Justin?”

 

Lance frowns. “Of course I am. Why wouldn’t I be?”

 

“I don’t know. I just would have thought you wanted to...you know...do the whole baby thing.”

 

Lance looked at him horrified.

 

“What?”

 

“First of all, babies are a nightmare. I had more than enough of that when the twins were born. I am more than happy to skip those years. Justin is adorable right now, and he’s going to be adorable until he’s like fourteen, then he’ll be a disgusting smelly monster until...I don’t know. When do boys stop being disgusting and smelly?”

 

Keith smiled slightly. “In your case, never.”

 

“Rude, I smell wonderful.” Lance tugged impatiently on a lock of his hair to make his point. “Second, we both know that if we don’t adopt him, he might not...Keith, come on.”

 

“I’m just making sure you’re onboard. He’s not...it won’t be easy.”

 

“Oh, my God. You’re regretting all the shit you gave Shiro, aren’t you? Hah! Just cause you were a demon child -”

 

“Lance, I’m serious. It’s going to be a lot of work, and he already lost one set of parents to space. If something happens to us...it’ll break him. I just...people go into these things with all the right intentions and then when one thing goes wrong -”

 

“Hey, calm down. I know, alright?” 

 

Keith looked like he was going to argue, but Lance plowed through. 

 

“Justin needs us. I don’t know why, but I really think we sort of need him, too. We can do the baby thing later, if we want to, but right now there’s a kid that’s hurting and we can try to make it hurt less.”

 

Keith was frowning.

 

“Besides, you turned out mostly alright. I mean, you still put the toilet paper on backwards like a savage -”

 

“Does it really matter?”

 

“Yes!”

 

Keith huffed irritably, but then sighed and pressed their foreheads together. “Is this what you want?” 

 

“I want to start a family with you.” Lance murmured. “And I want Justin to be a part of that.” 

 

Keith nodded and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Okay then. We’re going to adopt Justin.” 

 

~*~

 

Lance could hardly believe how fast it all was happening. As soon as they returned from their honeymoon, Lance set about getting paperwork in order and going straight to Sister Margaret. 

 

Justin started crying when Lance told him what he was doing. Lance was confused until the boy dove forward and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. 

 

“Ooof, alright kiddo, it’s okay.” he grunted. 

 

A kid with a black eye peered into the room then quickly walked out. Lance carefully banished the smirk from his face. Keith would be proud. 

 

“It’s going to take a while.” Lance told the boy when he was finally released. “So just hold tight, okay? And hey, no fighting. You don’t want to turn out like Keith.” 

 

“Keith’s alright.” Justin mumbled, looking shamefully at the floor anyway. 

 

“Keith was a mess for years before he grew out of it.” Lance said. “Anyway, we can start planning. What color do you want to paint your bedroom?” 

 

Justin blinked at him. “I...I can pick?” 

 

Lance smiled. “Yeah, of course. Hey, I’m always going to vote for blue, but think about it. We can go to pick out furniture next week, okay?”

 

~*~

 

**Justin**

 

Justin can hardly contain his excitement as the big day approaches. He’s had his things packed for a week. Sister Margaret keeps pulling him aside and telling him to be sure to make friends at his new school. 

 

That’s maybe the best part of this whole deal. Not only does he get to go live with Lance and Keith, and live in their house in the mountains and get his own room and read all the books he wants, but he also gets to change schools. He never has to see Gregory Pitts and Tommy Wiles again. 

 

And next summer, when Tommy Wiles’ parents forget to pick him up from school again, Justin will have a home to go to. He has a feeling it’s going to be a strange home, but it will be a home nonetheless. 

 

Lance and Keith are going to come to the Christmas pageant, even though Justin isn’t in it. He’s working backstage, in charge of the pulleys that change the backdrop of the stage. Mrs. Ketcher, the drama teacher, asked him specifically to do the job. 

 

And then, after the play, Justin isn’t going back to the dorms with the other students. He’s going home with Lance and Keith. And he won’t have to come back here ever again. 

 

From Justin’s spot in the corner of the backstage, peering between heavy immovable curtains, he can only see a sliver of the audience. He doesn’t see any recognizable faces, so he focuses on not missing his cues. 

 

He changes between dessert and night sky scenery. He watches the two eighth graders who are playing Joseph and Mary recite the lines that he too knows by heart. Other kids fill the stage as magi, and shepherds, and animals. Mr Timoldi plays the piano, the animals make up the chorus. 

 

Justin can’t wait to leave. 

 

At the end, he and the other stage hands walk out on the stage and bow. Justin blinks under the bright stage lights and tries to look out into the clapping audience. He can’t see any faces past the front row. 

 

The curtain shuts, and the other kids laugh and talk and walk away to get changed, and Justin slips out the side and into the audience. Parents and teachers and nuns are standing and moving towards the exit, to wait in the cafeteria for the kids with brownies and juice. 

 

He doesn’t see Lance and Keith. 

 

Did he get the date wrong? He couldn’t have. He had kept track with his calendar. 

 

“Justin!” 

 

Justin turns, and the tightness in his chest finally lets up. Keith is walking quickly towards him, wearing his Garrison uniform. His hair, which is normally tied up and out of the way, hangs limply in front of his face. And he looks tired. Like he had pulled an all-nighter. 

 

“Where were you?” Justin blurts out. 

 

Keith hesitates, then says, “Lance is in the hospital.” 

 

Keith always treats Justin like an adult, and Justin is incredibly grateful for it. He doesn’t try to hide the truth, or tell him things will be okay when they won’t be. 

 

“Hey, hey, he’s fine.” Keith reassured quickly. “There was a problem with his leg, and our friends didn’t catch it the last time he got maintenance work done. But it’s okay, he’s going to be fine. He just...couldn’t be here.” 

 

“Can I see him?” Justin asked quickly. 

 

Keith considered the request for a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. Of course. Let’s go get your stuff.” 

 

Justin leads him to the dorms, and quickly grabs the bag he has packed. Keith stares at the row of small thin beds with a furrowed brow, like he’s remembering a bad dream. But then his calloused hand rests on Justin’s shoulder and they leave the room. 

 

This is it. It’s finally happening. He’s finally going. 

 

Keith leads him out of the school and to where Lance’s hover car is parked at the curb. It’s dark and cold, yellow lights brighten their path. They’re halfway to the car before the door slams open behind them. 

 

“Justin!” 

 

Justin and Keith stop, and Justin looks back to see Samantha Ripley dashing down the steps with her beautiful hair streaming behind her like a flag. Keith silently took the bag and continued the walk towards the car. Samantha stops short of Justin. 

 

“You’re leaving.” Samantha says. 

 

“Yeah.” Justin shrugged. “New dads, new school. You know.” 

 

“I’m happy for you.” 

 

“Thanks.” Justin mumbled. 

 

Samantha darted forward and pressed her lips to his cheek, then pulled away. “Okay, bye.” 

 

She ran back into the building, and Justin just stared after her. He reached up and touched his cheek, feeling the spot burn. 

 

Justin turned and slowly walked towards the car. Keith was sitting in the driver’s seat, fiddling with something in his hands. Justin silently opened the passenger door and slid into the seat. Keith had a funny look on his face. 

 

“Shut up.” Justin mumbled. 

 

“I didn’t say anything.” Keith said, smiling slightly. “But just wait until Lance finds out.” 

 

Justin groaned. 

 

~*~

 

The hospital is quiet and dimly lit, and no one stops Keith as he leads Justin down the hall. A few nurses look up at them curiously, but no one says anything. Keith knows exactly where they’re going, and soon he’s pushing open a door to a private room. 

 

Lance is sitting up in bed, and he looks just as tired as Keith but he doesn’t look sick. He gives Justin a weak smile and says, “Hey, kiddo.” 

 

Justin ignores the other people in the room and rushes towards the bed, welcoming the feel of Lance’s warm hug. Lance holds him tightly and murmurs, “It’s alright, I’m alright.” 

 

“Sorry the big day didn’t go as planned.” Lance smiled as they pulled apart. 

 

Justin can’t speak. He just shakes his head. Keith moves past him to kiss his husband, rubbing his knuckles in his hair and sitting on the edge of the bed, not intending to move away again. 

 

“We were going to have a party at the house, but I guess we’ll have to do it here.” Lance says. “Justin, this is Pidge, Hunk and Shiro. They’re your family now too.” 

 

He recognizes them. He’s seen the posters, and the brochures. The men are larger than life, and the pictures don’t quite capture the clever glint of intelligence in the Green Paladin’s eye. But here they are, flesh and blood, and smiling at Justin like they already know him. 

 

“Hi Justin.” Shiro says kindly. “It’s so nice to meet you.” 

 

“We’ve heard a lot about you.” Hunk adds. 

 

And Pidge says, “Oh my God, it’s a mini-Keith.” 

 

Lance just smiles and closing his eyes. 

 

~*~

 

**Lance**

 

Okay, so maybe Lance had overdone it. 

 

The base of his leg, the part that connected the technological marvel to his body, had a tiny crack. It shouldn’t have been a big deal, and the leg should have lasted him at least another five years. But he wasn’t kind to it, and the crack widened, and he got an infection. If he hadn’t ended up in the hospital, the base could have split open and completely wrecked his knee. He was lucky, really. 

 

He just felt bad that it ruined Justin’s big day. 

 

Justin didn’t seem to mind, though. Keith took him home and got him settled into his new room. Justin had asked for forest green walls, and he and Lance had picked out grey sheets and a darker grey duvet, and a bookshelf and desk and dresser. Keith quietly told him the next day that the room still seemed empty, simply because Justin didn’t have many things. But that would change. With time, anything could change. And even just one month in, the drawers are slowly filling with clothes that Lance's mother keeps buying, and books that Pidge brings, and souvenirs from family outings as Justin slowly becomes comfortable in his new situation. 

 

Justin got through his first month at his new school alright. Keith had told him again and again, on the car ride there and on the walk to the office, he didn’t have to tell anyone anything he didn’t want to. He could start over. The other kids didn’t have to know he was adopted, or about his parents. Lance had to smile when Justin rolled his eyes. 

 

But so far, the teachers liked him. The other kids seemed to like him. His homeroom teacher reassured Lance that, like Sister Margaret’s letter of recommendation had said, he was a quiet kid, but good and hard working. And possessing a brilliant imagination that had now almost completely filled the notebook Lance had given him. Lance had already purchased a second book. 

 

Keith had taken Justin hiking, and Lance was forbidden from going by a gremlin in possession of four PhD’s. Pidge had told him he was lucky he wasn’t on bedrest. But Keith and Justin liked hiking a lot more than Lance did anyway, and if he was being honest he was really happy that they found something they could do together without Lance pushing. 

 

Lance just finished cleaning the kitchen when they came home, Keith’s low voice a steady murmur in the background. 

 

“Take off your shoes - it drives Lance nuts.” 

 

When they enter the kitchen, Justin’s eyes are bright and alive. Lance knows if he asks how the hike was, he’ll probably get a simple ‘fine’. He won’t get a play by play of the animals they saw, like he would have with Sylvio. In fact, if anything exciting did happen, he might not hear about it for a week. 

 

But then, Keith was always the same way. So Lance is used to it. 

 

Instead, when he gets the simple answer of ‘fine’, he puts down a plate of grilled cheese that he had sprinkled with sugar and a mug of chicken noodle soup. Justin hates tomato soup, and Lance feels strangely proud of himself for knowing that already. For some reason Keith always eats his soup in a mug, and Lance finds it to be a charming quirk and Justin seems to think it’s novel so now they all do it. As for the sugar, Lance just has a sweet tooth and sprinkles his grilled sandwiches with sugar to balance the salted butter. It's strange, but it's them. It's their family thing. 

 

Keith takes his own mug of soup and heads for the office, but not before kissing Lance on the cheek and saying, “I love you, even though you’re trying to give our whole family diabetes.” 

 

Lance hummed. “Love you too, even though you put on the toilet paper backwards like an uncultured swine.” 

 

Lance continued to hum along to the radio as he flipped his own sandwich. 

 

“Why do you guys do that?” Justin asked. 

 

“Do what?” 

 

“Tell each other you love each other and immediately insult each other after.” Justin slurped his soup. “It’s weird.” 

 

“Love’s weird, kiddo.” Lance smiled. “You wanna tell me you never pulled that Samantha girl’s hair because it was pretty?” 

 

Justin turned bright red and looked at his lunch. “She doesn’t know I exist.” he mumbled. 

 

“Not what Keith said.” Lance grinned. “Hey, calm down, I’m just teasing. All couples have their quirks. I’m sure your parents had some strange habits too. Keith and I...this is just a healthy way for us to vent. Something we learned in therapy.” 

 

“You went to therapy?” 

 

“Oh, yeah. We’ve clocked enough hours we could be professionals ourselves.” Lance nodded and slid his sandwich onto a plate, then cut it into triangles. “But we never did couples therapy until the Garrison made us, after we got engaged.” 

 

“They made you?” 

 

“They make all married couples who work together do sessions.” Lance bit into his sandwich. “It was actually really helpful for us. In a lot of ways, even though we were happy, we both had a lot of baggage that was holding us back. It was nice to have a safe space to air it out.” 

 

“And they told you to insult each other?” 

 

Lance laughed. “It seems weird, but it keeps us from having actual fights. Just like, little reminders for ourselves. You drive me crazy, and I love you for it.”

 

Justin frowned at his food. “I don’t get it.” 

 

“Don’t worry. You will.” He looked up and pointed his sandwich at his new son. “But most likely not with Samantha. This family can only take so much drama, and I will not approve of girls who wait until the last minute to kiss you.” 

 

Justin was beet red as he covered his face with his hands. 

 

“Get used to it, Justin.” Keith advised, walking back into the room and dropping his mug in the sink. “You’re stuck with him until you’re eighteen, unless you get abducted by a robotic space-cat.” 

 

~*~

 

_**And I-I never knew,** _

_**I never had a clue that,** _

_**That you were capable of love, love,** _

_**That you were capable of love** _

**Author's Note:**

> Title and lyrics from "Capable" by KO. The song is actually about addition, but these lines have always stuck with me. And seemed like they would really work for a story about a boy with so much love to give who meets a boy who had never received enough, and they get older and married and make a family.


End file.
